Tape

 Yes, call me a cheater, I believe in tape. And a sneak peak on something I am working on:

Thanks for viewing!

Painting with Bullets

Bullets of acrylic paint that is!

This new gadget is copyrighted by Xiau-Fong Wee, XFW March 2012


oh yeah.


Ready to paint! Currently working on 5 paintings!!!

Drawing Mediums and Inconsistencies

I want to make a post about the drawing mediums I use, and I want to warn you allll!!!!!
First, I use HB charcoal pencils, vine charcoal, conte crayon, and compressed charcoal shown above in that order from top to bottom.

Vine charcoal is like powdered soot in stick form. The picture below shows what the conte, compressed charcoal, and the HB pencils look like from left to right respectively. I can't really see the difference between conte and compressed, the difference lies in the feel of each. Conte is smoother and waxier, like a crayon, and compressed is dryer, like charcoal.



Here is the warning!

There are many many many inconsistencies with art supplies. Here is the first example. HB charcoal pencils are all different even though they are supposed to be the same. The last two strokes on the paper are from two charcoal pencils, both stating that they are HB Hard. One is still drastically softer and darker than the other.

So watch out!!! Save yourself from some frustration and check the pencil lead before you buy.

I still use both though- the harder one normally for smudging and smoothing the pencil strokes of softer mediums, in a small tight area. I wrap masking tape around the end of one of the HB pencils so that I can tell them apart immediately without having to test it out each time.


There are so many inconsistent art supplies. Why!?!? You can be sure I will make a post about all of them. For now, this is just on drawing supplies. You would think that it would be especially important to have art supplies be consistent and reliable! Ha.

Finishing up Bloody Work

Happy Halloween!!!


A handy hangar that lets me dry and reuse my Viva paper towels. I reuse them once or twice, or until they become hard and crusty. You can get a variety of unique hangars at The Container Store.

Muwahahahahaha

Canvas Carrier

I am grateful for my wet canvas carrier. Although I have not used it in a couple years, it came in use a couple days ago!


Stretching my own canvas means that I normally do not install a support bar (unless the canvass is long), and a support bar serves as a good handle in addition to keeping the frame bars from warping.

I am working on a pretty large painting, about 42 inches height, and needed to transport it by foot 1.2 miles, through the wind and hills of San Francisco. I thought about taking the bus, but was worried about crowds and other people on the bus potentially damaging my painting. Taxis are expensive. It took me a while before I realized I still had the wet canvas carrier stashed somewhere.


This thing can be pretty handy from time to time.